The LORD
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Yesterday I was in Portland for my graduation ceremony for seminary.
It was an amazing celebration, thank you all again for your support in patience as I spent the first four years of pastoring in school.
In seminary, you learn so much about Scripture and theology.
You learn fun big words - transubstantiation, supralapsarian, infralapsarian. Words, Lord willing, you will never hear me say again in a sermon.
You learn about God.
You learn about this omniscience, omnipotence, infallibility, omnipresence…
And these things are all true about him, and Scripture testifies to these things that he is all knowing, all powerful, unchanging, and present.
When you think about God, what words come to mind?
If your words don’t have 4 or 5 syllables, that’s okay. Scripture doesn’t use omniscience, omnipresence, immutable…
What does the Bible say about God’s character?
This morning we’re starting a series on the character of God.
Someone’s character is not just what they do it, but what’s behind what they do. Who they really are.
And to find out what God is really like we’re using the most quoted verse of the Bible by the Bible.
Scripture often references itself and this verse is the most quoted verse of the Bible by the Bible.
And in them we see that God is merciful and gracious, full of love.
But we also end verse 7 with this uncomfortable part of about God visiting the sin of people for generations. What is that about?
Does the Bible describe God as this haunting ghost who punishes people for stuff their great great great grandparents did? What do we do with that?
Is God a god of love, until he’s not? Is he merciful and gracious, but also just waiting for an opportunity to punish?
AW Tozer is famous for saying what comes to mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.
When you think about God, what comes to mind?
How much do you want to know about God?
This morning we’re going to do an introduction to Ex. 34:6-7.
First, we’ll look at the context of the passage in Exodus, because if you learn anything in seminary it’s context, context, context - look I just saved you thousands of dollars of education.
Second, we’ll see how this verse is referenced elsewhere in Scripture.
And third, we’ll look at how this passage starts with God’s name - the LORD.
Context of Passage in Exodus
No one likes being taken out of context. What is the context of Ex. 34:6-7?
These verses are in the book of Exodus, the second book of the Bible, and really Exodus in a sense is all about God making himself known.
To Israel, to Pharoah, to the nations, and he does so by saving his people as he sends a deliverer and then makes a covenant with them and desires to be with his people.
Exodus 1-15.
Exodus begins with Israel in Egypt. And in Egypt there is a new Pharoah who does not know Joseph. This word know is found everywhere in Exodus. It’s not a head knowledge. It’s a relational knowledge.
It’s I knew you went to Gateway, but then we went to Electric and got coffee and I got to know you more.
This new king does not know Joseph and therefore is against Israel.
God makes himself known to Moses as the LORD or YHWH, we’ll take more about that later.
Tell Pharoah, let my people go! I want to be known by Pharoah as the creator and redeemer of my people.
Pharoah tells Moses - I don’t know this YHWH. You’re people can’t go.
God continues to make himself known through 10…plagues.
God ultimately makes his power and love for his people known through the Exodus - saving his people from darkness and bringing them into a new land.
Ex. 19-23.
God then takes Israel to Mt. Sinai and makes himself known further by making a covenant with them and giving them his 10 words, which we call the 10 commandments.
Ex. 24-40.
God has said I know you, I love you, we’re married in a covenant so let’s move in together!
There’s this big long section about the tabernacle and how Israel is to make space for God to dwell with them.
It says that Moses goes up on the mountain to be with God for 40 days and 40 nights.
Which is a really long time. If I went away for 40 days and 40 nights, you might think I’m dead.
Ex. 32-34.
1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
The plot thickens.
God has made himself known to Israel. But now they say we don’t know where that Moses went. So let’s make gods that we can see and worship them.
Aaron - Moses’ brother, says, Yeah sure! They make the famous golden calf. They worship this false god. And God is very upset. It’s like if your spouse cheats on you while you’re still on your honeymoon. It’s that level of betrayal.
Scripture wants us to see as a new low of sin.
They’re disobeying the first two commandments God just gave them and they said they would obey - you shall worship me, and not make false idols. Check and check.
God says - I’m going to wipe them out and start over with you Moses.
We need to remember this is not Israel’s first mistake. They’ve been grumbling ever since they got out of Egypt. We’ve known something is wrong.
Moses intercedes, and says God that would be a bad PR move, what would Egypt think if you saved Israel and then just killed them in the desert? Also, your promises to Abraham! Don’t go back on your words.
And God relented - or changed his mind.
God does not go back on his promise to be with his people, but he does go back on his word to bring judgment on his people.
After Moses intercedes for Israel, he says, God show me your glory. And God says I will make my glory pass before you, and he proclaims his name, his character, in our passage.
What’s the point of all that?
God makes himself known to golden calf worshipers.
To those who deserve his punishment.
We may not build golden cows, but we worship false gods.
A god is anything I rely on. For safety. Security. Joy. Life.
My bank account. My family. My phone. My house.
When we worship these good things they become God things and in so doing we deserve God’s anger.
But we see in this story that even on your worst day, God makes himself known to golden calf worshipers.
Where might God be making himself known to you?
So that’s the context of our passage - square in the middle of Israel’s worst sin, God makes himself known.
Here’s who I am. But why is this verse so important? Couldn’t we find other verses about God in Scripture?
Use of passage in Scripture
We know this verse is important because it is referenced so many times in Scripture.
The Bible tells us - you want to know God? Look here.
Ex. 34:6-7 is referenced over 20 times in the OT, and once in the NT in John 1.
Num. 14:18; 2 Samuel 2:5-6; Deut. 4:31; 5:9-10; 2 Kings 13:22-23; 2 Chronicles 30:9; Psalms 25:6; 78:38; 103:7-11; 106:44-45; 108:3-4; 111:4; 112:4; 116:5; Is. 63:7; Jer. 32:17-18; Lam. 3:31-32; Dan. 9:4; Neh. 9:17-19; 9:30-32; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2. Mic. 7:18-19.
Feel free to take a picture of this and study them when you go home!
Here’s a sampling -
18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.
You can hear how Ex. 34:6-7 is referenced in these verses, and, like I said, over 20 other places in the OT.
The Bible screams at us - this is God. This is what he’s like. He’s a God who makes himself known to sinners.
Let’s look at one of these verses more closely.
17 And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ 19 Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”
In Numbers, Israel once again has sinned greatly against God.
They’re on the way to the Promised Land, the place God has promised to give them after saving them from Egypt, and Israel, complaining all the time says to God.
1 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
We wish God never saved us. We don’t want to be with him. And his savior is worthless, we want another one.
You buy your kid a car, pay for their college, love them every day of their life and they say, “Dad, Mom, I hate your guts and I never want to see you again.”
God is rightfully angry, he once again says he’s going to wipe out Israel, but who intercedes? Moses.
And he uses Ex. 34:6-7 to say God, be who you’ve promised to be. Slow to anger. Steadfast in love.
I mentioned earlier - what do we do with the end -
…but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’
In English, we end our sentences with the most important part. But that’s not the case in Hebrew. We’ll talk more about it later, but the structure of Ex. 34:6-7 actually highlights God’s forgiveness and steadfast love, while also including his justice.
He forgives thousands of generations, and will visit sin on 3 or 4 generations.
God does get angry, but it’s not his prime motivation, it is almost alien to his character.
One of my seminary professors would say - You can make God angry, but you have to work at it.
And if you go home and read these verses - what words are highlighted over and over and over from Ex. 34:6-7?
His mercy and his grace.
If God had a website about the author, it might say - I am gracious and merciful.
So what’s the point?
Scripture points to Ex. 34:6-7 and says here’s who God is - a God who makes himself known to sinners as gracious and merciful, although not at the expense of true justice.
But at his core, he is a God of grace - a God who wants to help those who can’t help themselves. And he’s merciful. He has a gut response, a visceral reaction to sinners to help them.
We see that in his sending Moses to deliver and intercede, and ultimately in Jesus, the true Moses who intercedes for us.
God is merciful and gracious.
God makes himself known to golden calf worshipers and Scripture attest to this verse being crucial for understanding God because it’s referenced so much.
So how does God reveal himself in these verses?
The LORD
6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord…
God reveals himself emphatically with his name - the LORD.
God has a name. And it’s not just God.
It’s not Lord, it’s YHWH.
But Chris it says, LORD, and for some reason it’s all caps. What’s going on here?
God revealed his name to Moses back in Ex. 3.
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
Moses asks - when Israel asks me, who sent you, what should I say? God says I AM WHO I AM.
What’s his name? God says I cannot be put in a box, I am the center of reality. I am.
What’s my name? Chris. I’m easily defined as a generic white guy who likes golf.
Who’s God? I AM.
God makes himself known as the foundation of all reality. The universe centers around him. What’s his name? I AM.
So YAHWEH, comes from this moment.
At some point, Jewish scribes out of reverence for God, stopped saying these Hebrew words which essentially mean - HE IS, or HE WILL BE.
And so they would say - Adonai, or Lord. And what they did was they inserted the vowels of Adonai into the Hebrew word for He is and it became essentially something that looked like YaHoWaH.
But later Christian scribes didn’t understand that, so they said, Oh, his name is Jehovah!
God’s name was never Jehovah. It was a hybrid word.
So whenever you see LORD in all caps in your Bible, you can say, Yahweh. God’s personal name.
What’s the point?
God has a name.
But he’s also so powerful and the center of all reality, and so in some respects, we don’t even have the right to say his name. In fear of God, some people throughout the ages have said it’s better not to say his name because he is so powerful, so holy, so other.
He is the center of reality.
And he makes himself known. He has a name. He wants to be known. He calls Moses his friend. He wants us to call him Father.
Money doesn’t make the world go around. At the center of all things is a merciful and gracious 3in1 God who makes himself known.
YHWH.
Conclusion
How’re we doing?
Sermons are not seminary lectures. They proclaim something. The goal is not head knowledge it’s worship. So I know that was a lot to cover.
God makes himself known, to golden calf worshipers, not to people who get it right all the time.
God makes himself known and primarily, he’s a God of mercy and grace, but his mercy and grace will not be at the expense of justice.
And God is the center of all reality, YHWH, an infinitely holy God who has a name.
God makes himself known.
How much do you want to know of God?
Perhaps you’re wondering, how has God made himself known? I’m looking for him and I’m not finding him.
The Bible says God has made himself known clearly ever since the creation of the world.
Sin is when we look at the world and reject the reality of God.
You know if someone comes up to you with a story and you say, “EHHHHH I don’t want to know that.”
That’s a picture of sin.
It’s God through creation, his word, our lives, common grace of good things in life, revealing himself and we go, “NOPE! Don’t want to know.”
Pharoah is a picture of every human. God comes to us making himself known, giving us chance after chance after chance, and we say, “Who’s God?” And it leads to our ruin when we don’t turn.
Are you refusing to see God when he’s made himself so known to you?
Even so, I have friends, you have friends, who won’t come to church this morning because they say if God is a God who allowed these things to happen to me and my family, I don’t want to know him.
God has made himself known and he’s cruel.
And a sermon is not enough time and space to have a real conversation with hurting people.
But I would say - the Bible makes God’s mercy and grace known by giving us language in suffering. The biggest book in the Bible - the Psalms shows us that God knows what it’s like to feel like God has left for good.
As Jesus - God with a name - dies, he quotes Psalm 22 and says - God why have you forsaken me?
God made himself known in Jesus - and in Jesus we see that God cares. We may think God is cruel, but if he revealed himself in Jesus, a man of sorrows acquainted with tears and suffering, we cannot say he doesn’t care. He understands.
And not only that, we see God made himself known to golden calf worshipers by sending Jesus to pay for the wrath we deserved.
God’s justice would not be thrown out the door because he’s just too loving, no, he’s just! And his justice was satisfied on the cross so we could have his life.
How do we get on that? Freely by faith. Golden calf worshipers are welcomed into the family.
How much do you want to know God? He’s merciful and gracious, he knows your angry prayers and worst moments better than you do. He knows pain better than you do. And he made himself known in Jesus so you could know him.
3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
What would it look like for you to know God?
He’s a God of mercy. Grace. Love. Faithfulness. Forgiveness. Justice. YHWH. The center of reality, and he doesn’t just want you to know about him, he wants you to know him.
I recommend seminary.
You don’t need seminary to know God.
He’s made himself known.
Our job is to respond in faith.
